Seasonal wardens and netted fences are helping protect the rare ground-nesting birds that arrive each spring on the UK’s shores

On Ross Sands in Northumberland, a little tern has caught sight of a group of people and is sprinting across the beach. “It wants us to follow it,” says Andrew Craggs, senior manager at Lindisfarne national nature reserve. “It’s a diversionary thing – it’s...

SprintHive tested every frontier AI model on real South African bank statements. This is what happened.

Bonnie has two days to get from south London to her grandparents’ house in Cornwall before lockdown in this super low budget British comedy

No offence to any Clives reading, but the intentionally naff title of this film does not inspire confidence – and turns out to be indicative of the cheerful ridiculousness of this super low budget British comedy. It is about a trio of twentysomethings on...

Nearly half of young South Africans are locked out of formal work. Youth unemployment is now 45.8%, and for many entering the job market is not an option. Instead, many of them build their own business, increasingly with income streams that are diversified beyond South Africa’s borders. A designer in Johannesburg could invoice clients in […]

Each of the 9 068 hijackings of trucks between January 2021 and December 2025 involved a living, breathing driver as much as the billions in cargo that were targeted. Despite massive rollouts of innovative systems and tech to track, monitor and secure assets, we haven’t really moved the needle in 5 years. South Africa’s almost […]

Scientific dating proves streaks on walls of Bacon Hole, near the Mumbles in south Wales, is Palaeolithic rock art

In 1912, the Guardian reported on the discovery of Palaeolithic rock art on the walls of Bacon Hole, a cave near the Mumbles in south Wales – only for the painted panel’s authenticity to be dismissed by 1928.

A series of horizontal bands in red pigment were subsequently deemed no...

With no recorded sightings before 1885, noctilucent clouds have been linked to volcanoes, pollution or climate change

As summer arrives in the northern hemisphere, so do the noctilucent clouds – hopefully. These high-altitude formations are as enigmatic as they are beautiful. Their name derives from Latin, meaning “night shining”.

They appear during the summer months and glow with an...

Study finds activity is not harmful or caused by stress of captivity – and is in fact more common in wild birds

An investigation into acts of self-pleasure among parrots and other birds has reached a climax, with the results providing welcome relief for vets and researchers, not to mention the birds themselves.

Bird keepers are often advised to discourage and even punish birds for masturbating,...

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

If an alien landed and asked you: “What is this thing you call music?” what would you play for them? And why? Heather, Kent

Post your answers (and new questions) below or send them to nq@theguardian.com. A selection will be...

Experts hail daraxonrasib as ‘gamechanger’ for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer

A daily pill can double survival time in patients with the world’s deadliest cancer, according to the results of a clinical trial that experts are saying is a “gamechanger” and one of the biggest breakthroughs in decades.

Currently, there are few treatments for pancreatic cancer, and most do little or...

In my hometown, Bethal – a tiny Mpumalanga town of about 128,000 residents surrounded by coal mines and power stations – Eskom could close or reconfigure the many coal power stations in the area. This simply means fewer jobs for young people seeking employment. On the other hand, the massive R25 billion to R35 billion hybrid wind […]

Meteor was travelling at 75,000 miles per hour (more than 120,000 km/h) at an altitude of 40 miles when it broke apart

A meteor crashing toward Earth exploded over the north-eastern United States on Saturday, Nasa said, setting off booms that echoed over the region with a blast equivalent to 300 tons of TNT.

The fireball broke up over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire...

Jab brought ‘unprecedentedly strong responses’ in patients whose disease had become resistant to chemotherapy and immunotherapy

Doctors have hailed “unprecedented” trial results that show a triple-action cancer jab can eradicate entire tumours in patients.

In an international trial spanning 11 countries, the injection was offered to patients whose cancer had spread or come back and whose...

Results presented at oncology conference in Chicago show Galleri test failed to reduce late-stage cancer diagnoses

A blood test for more than 50 types of cancer that was billed as the holy grail of oncology has failed to achieve its main objective in a major clinical trial, according to data presented at the world’s largest cancer conference.

The goal of the study involving 142,000 NHS patients...

The Canadian entrepreneur has always pushed the boundaries of gene editing, once attempting to turn horses into unicorns. Now she is set on modifying human embryos – something her controversial ex-husband was jailed for doing

On a Friday evening in late April, Cathy Tie, the Canadian serial entrepreneur and self-styled “Biotech Barbie”, is centre stage at New York City’s famous Carnegie...

A blue micromoon is a rare spectacle, though it’s not as blue or as micro as you might imagine

This weekend the night skies will feature a rare spectacle – a blue micromoon. We take a look at what the phrase means and how to catch a glimpse of the event.

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Findings add to growing efforts to explain why cancer rates are increasing among younger adults worldwide

Poor sleep may be fuelling the global rise in under-50s being diagnosed with cancer, two large studies suggest.

The number of younger people diagnosed with the disease has risen by almost 80% in three decades. Worldwide cases of early-onset cancer increased from 1.82m in 1990 to 3.26m in...